This invention relates to a covering system for containers. More specifically, it relates to a tarping system with dual springs that allow for constant and continuous pressure to be exerted on the tarp and tarp arms.
Transport containers, especially those used on trucks to haul large loads are typically open at the top. Being open at the top makes the transport containers easier to fill. However, while they may be easier to fill, these transport containers are also prone to losing part of the load while the vehicle is traveling. Debris can escape causing possible damage to other vehicles or other safety concerns. As a result, these transport containers must be covered.
Many transport containers are covered by large tarps that hold the load in place. Some of these tarps must be fitted manually to a transport container using a system of fasteners and ropes and other ties. This manual process of applying a cover to a transport container is very difficult and time consuming. A user often times will struggle to cover a load that is very large. This manual process can also be dangerous for a user and many safety concerns are realized while utilizing a manual process. Furthermore, a user must physically tighten the ties to ensure that the tarp is secure. This method of covering a transport container is simply too labor intensive and grueling for most users. As a result, covering systems utilizing a mechanical method have been developed to meet a growing demand.
Many of the mechanical covering systems utilize varying types of automatic systems to unroll a tarp over the transport container. Some systems utilize telescopic arms that unroll a tarp over a transport container as the arms expand. These same arms can then contract to roll the tarp when it is not needed. Other systems use straight arms that bend at a joint to either unroll or roll a tarp as needed. Many of these systems utilize springs to help drive the arms to roll or unroll over a transport container. However, while these systems save a user time in covering a transport container, they do not work well when covering large transport containers, namely container in excess of 40 feet in length. What tends to happen while covering larger transport container is that the arms, whose movement is dependant on springs, must be increasingly long in length and are difficult to move due to their size. The springs become overloaded and lose tension and no longer are able to handle the load placed on them. The motors and springs that power the motion of the arms struggle to maintain constant and continuous pressure on the tarp and arms over the length of the container and are prone to failure. Failure may be realized in the inability to move the tarp arms and/or the tarp arms bowing outward into a position that is no longer suitable for covering the transport container. This causes the system to not be appropriate to use on these larger transport container or for use on transport containers which fall in the low-sided gondola category.
A potential solution to this problem has been to add a joint or pivot point to the tarp arms so that there is an additional point to relieve some of the weight and pressure of the springs moving such a large and heavy tarping system. Another solution has been to add an arm and crossover assembly to further support the tarp arms. This arm and crossover assembly will aid the tarp arms in flipping back over the transport container when the springs are too overloaded to handle the weight load. A problem with this solution is that the arm and crossover assembly has been deemed too dangerous and prone to failure and many users avoid using this solution. Yet another solution is to simply add more and more springs positioned at the same angle to allow for more strength and therefore a higher weight load. The problem with this solution is that there is limited space on a transport container and at some point there is physically no more room to add another spring and in extra large transport containers, the springs still fail and are unable to pull the tarp arms up.
This invention solves all of these above mentioned problems. This invention comprises a tarping system utilizing dual springs for movement of the tarp arms therefore covering or uncovering the tarp in a manner that allows for uniform and constant pressure on the arms for smooth tarping of the transport container. In particular, this invention allows for the covering and uncovering of long containers, up to 53 feet long, as well as low-sided gondola transport containers, in a manner that keeps constant pressure on the tarping system. This and other advantages will be fully realized in more detail below.